Box Score ST. CLOUD, MN. – Defense, Offense and the transition game were all clicking for the Upper Iowa men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon as the Peacocks took on the Huskies of St. Cloud State in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament. UIU seemed unstoppable at times against the Huskies as they put together a complete game to defeat SCSU, 77-53, inside Halenbeck Hall.
 
The road victory marks the Peacocks’ 20th victory this season – most in Division II history. UIU will continue the tournament next Friday in Rochester, Minnesota against Bemidji State in the Semifinals inside Taylor Arena.
 
“We picked the best time of the year to play our best,” Head Coach Brian Dolan said. “But by no means are we done. By no means are we in [the regional tournament]. I told the guys, ‘let’s not leave this up to anyone but us.’ We just have to take care of business in the next round.”
 
On Saturday, the UIU offense shot 50-percent from the floor and dished out 18 assists – the second highest mark this year for the Peacocks. The defense was also impressive, as it held SCSU to just 34-percent shooting, forced five steals and nine turnovers and blocked two shots.
 
“If our defense is on, our offense is almost unstoppable,” Tucker Wentzien said.
 
Wentzien finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-8 shooting from the free throw line, while adding ten rebounds. The Solon, Iowa product now has four double-doubles this season, with the first of the year coming against SCSU back on February 9th.  
 
“The more we mesh and play together, the better we play,” Wentzien said. “When we’re out there having fun, that’s when we play our best basketball. It’s the same for me. When I’m having success on the defensive end, I have more confidence converting those big plays into points on the other end of the floor.”

Despite a slow start and the Huskies jumping out to a 7-2 lead less than four minutes into the game, the Peacocks’ confidence never faltered. Wentzien converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way before David Smith entered the game and stole the first pass that came his way. His steal and layup in transition led to the Peacocks’ first lead of the game, 12-11, with 14:07 remaining in the opening period.
 
The Huskies retook the lead less than 30 seconds later with a Tim Bergstaser layup, but Elgin had a response. The Center Point, Iowa native connected on a three-pointer from the right wing before hitting a long two on the next possession. UIU would not trail again for the rest of the night.
 
“I wanted to feed off Wednesday night’s game,” Elgin said. “I didn’t want to force anything. I just wanted to let the game come to me and, shooting-wise, I think I did that.”
 
Wentzien kept the hot shooting going with a tough bucket on the baseline that he banked off the glass. He had eight points through the first eight minutes of the game as the Peacocks stormed out in front, 19-13. Grant Lang then connected on a trey from the corner as UIU started a red-hot 64-percent from the floor.
 
“The guys did a good job of using each other and playing through one another,” Dolan said. “We ran our offense really well, spreading the ball around,” Dolan said. “I thought our guys did a nice job of executing and finding the right guys, making the extra pass – that’s the key against the St. Cloud defense.”
 
Shaun Jensen hit a long two to slow the UIU run, but a backdoor cut and layup from Lang pushed the Peacocks back in front by nine, midway through the first period. With the defensive attention on Lang, Jake Shonka was able to get open at the elbow and his bucket from 15 feet out gave UIU a 26-15 lead and completed the 24-10 run.
 
“We just bogged down a little bit during the year,” Dolan said about his squad's offense. “We were just trying to do too much on our own - one-on-one. We’re just a team that needs to use each other. We’re better as a group than we are as one. Every team hits the wall or a rut during the season. Maybe that’s where we were a couple weeks ago, but we’re playing well right now.”
 
Thanks to back-to-back three-pointers, the Huskies cut the lead back down to eight with 5:26 to play in the first half. SCSU’s zone defense frustrated the Peacocks, but UIU still managed to earn a seven-point lead at the break, 36-29.
 
“They’re a great team,” Dolan said. “They’re very well coached – probably the best-coached team in our league. He tried a little bit of everything and our guys did a nice job of handling it – we just kept playing through every scenario. We were playing like we’re a group of seniors who have been through this before.”
 
UIU wasted no time in the opening minutes of the second half to extend its lead to 13 points. A Jake Hughes full-court pass and assist to Joey Woods - who finished the contested layup off the glass - capped a 9-2 run in the opening three minutes of the second stanza.
 
“When you get out in the open floor, Joey does a great job,” Dolan said. “That’s his game. He made good decisions with the ball tonight and when he does that, he’s going to score.”
 
Woods finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Hughes had just one turnover in the game compared to seven assists – his second highest total this year.
 
“We’ve been playing together for so long and we have so much chemistry, we feel like we already know where everyone is on the floor before they are there,” Elgin said.
 
Elgin continued the passing clinic with a no-look pass on the baseline to Wentzien and the big man slammed it home to give UIU a 47-33 lead with just over 15 minutes left.
 
“A couple times they collapsed on me and I just tried to make a play,” Elgin said. “Most of the time it was for Tucker and obviously, he knows how to finish around the hoop.”
 
After another Wentzien bucket, Hughes found a streaking Woods and the redshirt-junior gave the Peacocks an 18-point lead with a jumper from just inside the arc.
 
The hot shooting and the strong defense was just too much for the Huskies as UIU kept a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half.
 
Two free throws from Woods pushed the Peacocks’ lead to as much as 21 points with just two minutes left as UIU sealed the victory.

Before this season, UIU was 0-2 in the NSIC postseason. This year, the Peacocks are 2-0 and they are headed to the semifinals for the first time since moving to Division II before the 2006-07 season.
 
“You get into this business for the kids,” Dolan said. “It’s fun to watch them experience this and watch them have fun. They’re making memories that they’ll have for the rest of their lives. I’m just really proud of these guys and I hope this hot streak continues.”
 
Saturday’s victory in St. Cloud marked the first time in the postseason that a home team lost, but Bemidji State continued the trend in the nightcap quarterfinals matchup as the Beavers held on in Winona, Minnesota for a 74-72 victory. 

Dolan knows Friday's matchup will be a similar environment and he's calling for another unbelievable fan turnout.
 
“It was a great crowd tonight,” he said. “I appreciate everybody who came up. I hope for a similar turnout next week."
 
UIU defeated BSU, 81-67, in Fayette earlier this year in their only other matchup this season.
 
“They are a very good basketball team and they are very hot right now,” Dolan said.  “But like I said, 'I’m just excited to be here and I’m so proud of these kids.’”